Key Points

"India or actually any self-respecting nation will not let itself be humiliated. India will never allow itself and we have seen it in the past months. The more pressure is there from the Trump administration on India, the more stronger the Indian government has stood up, the people of India have stood up, the public opinion in India has stood up. So it is counterproductive for the West, for America to pressure India," Sachdev told ANI.

Sachdev's comments came after Putin, addressing the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, called Modi a "very wise leader" who puts India's national interest first. The Russian President cautioned that if India gave in to Western pressure and stopped buying Russian oil, the country could suffer losses of USD 9-10 billion.

"There is no political aspect here; it's purely an economic calculation. Will India give up our energy resources? If so, it will incur certain losses. Estimates vary; some say it could be around $9-10 billion. But if it doesn't refuse, sanctions will be imposed, and the loss will be the same. So why refuse if it also carries domestic political costs? [Indian people] will never allow themselves to be humiliated by anyone. I know Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi, he will also not make any such decisions," Putin said, according to Russia Today.

Putin also underlined India's importance in the Russia-India relationship, describing it as a "privileged strategic partnership" that goes back decades. "Prime Minister Modi is a very wise leader who thinks first about his country," he added.

Sachdev said Putin's words reflected the trust in India's leadership but stressed that both nations need to broaden their engagement beyond government and defence ties and focus on people-to-people ties.

"PM Modi is a very wise, sensible, balanced leader, and India is fortunate to have a strong leader like PM Modi in these times. Russia-India relations, yes, go back a long way, since the 1971 war. Relations are deep and trusting. Going ahead, I think it's extremely important for both Russia and India to widen our relations," he said.

He pointed out that people-to-people exchanges remain limited compared with India's relations with the US, which are strengthened by the Indian diaspora. "For India and Russia's strategic partnership to endure, it is extremely important that people-to-people relations should widen, be it trade, commerce, tourism, students and such exchanges."

Sachdev also explained that India's oil purchases from Russia have helped stabilise global markets. "What President Putin is saying is that common sense has been evident ever since the Ukrainian war started, and global oil markets would go up if Russian oil is taken off the world markets. In fact, India kept on buying Russian oil partly; the Americans and the Europeans were in agreement because they realised if India stopped buying from Russia, it would go to other sources, which would drive up the prices," he said.

According to him, Washington's push against Russian oil buyers could even backfire on US interests. "If India stops buying and China stops buying Russian oil, the world oil prices would go up, which would lead to an increase in interest rates in the United States. Trump has been trying to lower the interest rates in America, he is in a running battle with the US Federal Reserve. So it is very much contrary to American self-interest to push Russia's trading partners to stop buying oil."

Putin is expected to visit India at the end of this year, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov scheduled to come earlier to prepare for the summit.

Putin's remarks come two weeks after US President Donald Trump, during his address in the United Nations General Assembly, called China and India the "primary funders" of the Ukraine war, accusing them of financing it by continuing to buy Russian oil.

"China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil," Trump said.

- ANI